PADRES: Team expects better results as players become more accustomed to Petco's unique style

SAN DIEGO ---- Jason Bartlett readily admits he was unprepared for the Padres' grind-it-out style of play.

Before joining the Padres last season, the veteran shortstop spent three seasons in the offensive-minded American League East with the Tampa Bay Rays.

So it was quite an adjustment when a December 2010 trade took him from slugfests in the AL to the Padres and Petco Park, where an abnormal amount of tightly contested games are played and lopsided results and a chance to relax are rare.

Bartlett remembers he often heard the message last spring, one Padres coaches continue to preach, about how pitching and defense are critical to the team's success.

But Padres manager Bud Black and third baseman Chase Headley both recall instances more than a month into the 2011 season when Bartlett, who has played 860 games in the majors, approached them astonished over the team's high number of close games.

Bartlett and several other second-year Padres now have a better sense of the organization's scheme. Their awareness is one of many reasons the Padres expect to be a much better baseball team than outsiders expect. Oddsmakers and analysts predict doom and gloom for the Padres, who were 71-91 last season and finished last in the National League West. But within the clubhouse, the Padres think they'll be much improved.

"It gets pretty stressful," Bartlett said. "Very rarely did we have laughers. Playing in (Petco Park), you don't score too many runs very often. It really is pitching and defense for us. We have to do the little things like we have been preaching in camp to get the one run here or there.

"It really does make a difference."

In the big leagues last season, only the Cincinnati Reds, who had 95, played more games decided by two runs or less than the Padres (91). The league average was 79.5 games.

The Padres also played in the fourth-fewest games (34) decided by five or more runs ---- five fewer than the league average.

Now in his sixth season as manager, Black knows veterans and rookies alike need time to adjust to the team's style and to Petco Park, which has developed a reputation over the years as a run suppressor.

Last season, the Padres' lineup featured new faces at four of eight positions, which led to lots of adjustments and a slow start.

On May 1, seven of the Padres' eight starters were hitting under .250. First baseman Brad Hawpe, who was tasked with replacing Adrian Gonzalez, was hitting .149. Ryan Ludwick, the team's cleanup hitter in 56 of his 101 games, was hitting .198.

"They're low-scoring. They're tight. They're well-pitched," Black said. "I think there's an appreciation for those types of games, and you can only get the feel for that by experiencing it, and I think that takes time. It does lend itself to knowing what we need to do."

The team's many skeptics don't believe last season's experience will translate to success in 2012.